Conventionally, electrical power from a source is transmitted to a load through two separate pathways, a transmitting path composed of an electrical body (where current leaves the source and enters the load) and a return path composed of a second electrical body. An electrical body may be defined as any object that allows the propagation of electrical energy of any magnitude. The connection of either the transmitting path or return path to the load may be a direct connection or a capacitive coupling where a time alternating electric field induces movement of charge in the load.
A conventional method is to use a direct connection from a source to a load through conducting metal wires. In this method, both transmitting and return paths are physical conducting wires.
Other conventional methods utilize a direct connection from source to load through one physical wire and the other connection through capacitive coupling between the source and either adjacent conductors or the physical wire's self-capacitance. Such systems may either have a capacitively coupled transmitting path and a physical wire return path, or the reverse. Other methods utilize a transformer to resonantly increase the voltage or charge distribution along a single conductor then step the voltage or charge distribution down with another transformer to operate a load. Such systems may also involve a DC rectification stage at the end of the singe wire in place of a second transformation stage to convert the high voltage AC to DC in order to operate an electric load.
So far as known to the inventors, conventional methods making use of a single wire transmission line require one or more transformation processes which do not make use of the natural potential or voltage gradient developed from a standing wave on an electrical body. In addition, the object bridging the connection between one transformation system and the other is placed under a very high potential making interaction with that object dangerous.
Every electrical body has both a self-capacitance and a self-inductance. A conducting object placed in a perfect vacuum and isolated from surrounding matter by a distance of infinity will still possess both of these properties. Self-inductance is defined as a phenomenon which occurs when an applied current through an electrical body induces a countering current within the same electrical body.
An electrical resonator is made up of electrical elements known as a capacitor and an inductor connected together. Energy placed in one of the electrical elements will transfer to the other element and then back to the original and repeat the cycle many times—setting up a resonant oscillation that continues until the energy is dissipated from losses. This resonance will have a specific range of frequencies where the oscillations take place. This type of circuit is known as a tank circuit in the art. It is also well known in the art that the self-capacitance and self-inductance of an electrical body may form a tank circuit at a specific frequency, or set of frequencies.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 645,576, 649,621, 787,412 and Canadian patent 142,352 describe methods of transmission whereby the resonant body is used as the transmission line. In these methods the electrical body is excited through the self-capacitance.
Electrical power may be transmitted from one location to another in a variety of methods. The most widely used is a two wire system where the electric current flows from the power source to the load and back to the power source through physical. Another well known method in the art is to utilize the earth as a return conductor. In such systems, the load must always have two direct connections with the power source. Other techniques to transmit electrical power operate without wires. This is done by using the magnetic coupling between two circuits. The wireless distance can be extended if the two circuits are both resonant at the same frequency. In addition to magnetic field coupling, the electric field may also be used to transfer power.